I do the same. The first time was in 1996 when someone I barely knew asked to borrow $200 to fix his car so that he could keep his job. I said I’d give it to him because I knew that on his salary, he’d never be able to pay it back. I told him that if he ever could pay it back, he should give it to someone else who was struggling.

I never saw him again. I hope that money helped him and maybe even someone else.